Beverage container lid with reservoir and repetitive measuring and disbursement mechanism

ABSTRACT

A lid for a beverage container having a reservoir chamber for holding drink additive, a measurement chamber in fluid communication with the measurement chamber, and an upper chamber with a lower end in fluid communication with an upper end portion of the reservoir chamber. A plunger has an upper chamber seal, an upper seal and a lower seal, and an actuator moves the plunger between first, second and third plunger positions to dispense a measured drink additive in the measurement chamber into the container. The plunger has a central filler port to receive drink additive and an aperture in fluid communication with the reservoir chamber. The actuator includes a closure member closing the filler port and manually movable to move the plunger. A lock member is movable between locked and unlocked positions, and in the locked position prevents movement of the plunger from the first to the second plunger position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed generally to lids for beveragecontainers, and more particularly, to lids with a sealed reservoirisolated from the contents of the beverage container for holding anddispensing additive substances into the beverage container.

Description of the Related Art

Reusable beverage containers and insulated tumbler cups and mugs areknown in the art and many conventional models are available on themarket. The standard models of these refillable and reusable “go-cups,”travel mugs, and water bottles are typically sold with a removable lidand those removable lids typically encompass a closeable drinkingaccess. Some cup models are vacuum-sealed with double walls to improveinsulation even further.

Insulated cups are used widely for both hot and cold beverages. Yeti®Rambler Tumblers are particularly popular and these cups work great tokeep drinks cool. They are also very popular for use during socialfunctions including sporting events and outdoor adventures. Becauseflavoring, creamer, liquors, or spirits are used in smaller proportionto the primary beverage, there is a need to transport these additivesseparately from the insulated cup when one wishes to replenish theprimary beverage on the go. If a cocktail is desired, an individual mustcarry around a flask, or some other glass or plastic container to pourliquids into the primary beverage. Furthermore, the selection andquantity of additives are a matter of personal choice, so while theprimary beverages may be more readily available to refill the primarycontainer, the additives may require transport by an individual ortransport of many various containers to serve multiple individuals.Transporting additives separately from insulated containers on hot dayscan result in the additives becoming too warm to consume and cause thebeverage with which the additive is mixed to be warmer than desired orwatered down due to the melting of ice in the beverage. When on the go,measuring the right amount of an additive is challenging and can lead toundesirable proportions in the mixture of additive to the primarybeverage, leaving mixed drinks either over or under poured.

Individuals have turned to employing separate containers such as flasksor mini-bar size bottles to transport spirits or liquors. Companies havebegun providing flavoring and creamers in plastic-disposable servings tomeet the tastes of people on the go. Prior attempts to permit thetransport of beverage additives such as flavorings in conjunction withthe go-cups have failed because they have universally required one-timeuse through the breaking of a membrane or a tearing or puncturing of aseal. While some prior art has taught to have button actuation releaseof the content from the compartment to the cup without removal of thelid, those attempts have required a single-use of at least an additivevessel inserted within the lid. Personalization of the insertion offlavoring additives to a travel cup have been addressed only by the useof multiple compartments which require the breaking or tearing ofmultiple, single-use membranes. In many cases, the activation of anadditive chamber results in the prevention of any further use of theentire lid so that the entire lid must be disposed.

While the multi-compartments have the ability to release only apre-measured, set amount, they are cumbersome to operate because eachcompartment requires an individual releasing mechanism or the ability toturn or move the actuating mechanism to release the contents of thecompartments. The prior art generally teaches that discharged containersshould be locked open and any additive stored in a compartment should becompletely discharged upon deployment.

Many inventions must be removed in order to drink the contents of thebeverage container. Other inventions have sought ways to add a smallamount of additive when a container is tipped for pouring. In oneexample, a compartment released an additive into the outflow of acontainer and thus only when the lid was properly rotated and thebeverage container was horizontally tipped. While creating a compartmentfor an additive within the lid, these efforts have removed the abilityfor the lid to allow fluid transfer for direct drinking. Anotherinvention dripped additive into the stream of a soda after a large lidand cover was attached to the exterior of a soda can. As with the priorexample, the additive is only mixed with the beverage flow when it exitsthe container's spout. The prior art is occupied with cumbersomeattachments that are difficult to manufacture and require wastefulutilization of single-use vessels or sophisticated titrating withreservoirs that are not reusable or refillable.

The applicants have overcome many, if not all, of these issues with aproduct described in their U.S. Pat. No. 10,112,752 and related allowedU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/857,399 (U.S. Publication2018-0186528). However, applicants have improved upon the productdescribed therein as is described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a beverage container using abeverage container body with an interior cavity having a beveragecontainer lid according to the present invention attached thereto.

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the beverage container lid of FIG. 1with a drink aperture in a closed state.

FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of the beverage container lid ofFIG. 1 with the drink aperture in an opened state.

FIG. 4 is a side perspective cross-sectional view of the beveragecontainer lid of FIG. 1 with a plunger in a first plunger position forpermitting a drink additive to flow from a reservoir chamber into ameasurement chamber.

FIG. 5 is a top perspective exploded view of the beverage container lidof FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the beverage container lid of FIG.1 with the plunger in the first plunger position.

FIG. 6A is an enlarged side elevational view of a filler port/actuatorportion of the beverage container lid shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the beverage container lid of FIG.1 with the plunger in a second plunger position for the sealing drinkadditive the measurement chamber.

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the beverage container lid of FIG.1 with the plunger in a third plunger position for permitting the drinkadditive in the measurement chamber to flow into the interior cavity ofthe beverage container body to which the beverage container lid isattached.

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the beverage container lid of FIG.1 with the plunger in the first plunger position shown in FIG. 6, butwith drink additive in the reservoir chamber and the measurementchamber.

FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of the beverage container lid of FIG.1 with the plunger in the second plunger position shown in FIG. 7, butwith the drink additive in the measurement chamber captured betweenupper and lower seals and isolated from the drink additive in thereservoir chamber.

FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of the beverage container lid of FIG.1 with the plunger in the third plunger position shown in FIG. 7, butwith the lower seal opened and the drink additive in the measurementchamber being released, while the upper seal retains the rest of thedrink additive above the upper seal within the lid body.

FIG. 12A is a top perspective view of the beverage container lid of FIG.1 with a closure cap and a return spring removed from the lid to bettershow the filler port through which drink additive is added to thereservoir chamber and shown with the plunger in the first plungerposition and a locking ring in the locked position.

FIG. 12B is a side perspective cross-sectional view of the beveragecontainer lid of FIG. 1 with the closure cap removed as shown in FIG.12A.

FIG. 13A is a top perspective view of the beverage container lid of FIG.1 with the closure cap and return spring removed from the lid and thelocking ring in the locked position.

FIG. 13B is a side perspective view of the locking ring and plunger ofthe beverage container lid of FIG. 1 removed from the lid with thelocking ring in the locked position of FIG. 13A.

FIG. 13C is a top plan view of the beverage container lid of FIG. 1 withthe closure cap and return spring removed from the lid and the lockingring in the locked position as shown in FIG. 13A.

FIG. 14A is a top perspective view of the beverage container lid of FIG.1 with the closure cap and return spring removed from the lid and thelocking ring in the unlocked position.

FIG. 14B is a side perspective view of the locking ring and plunger ofthe beverage container lid of FIG. 1 removed from the lid with thelocking ring in the unlocked position of FIG. 14A.

FIG. 14C is a top plan view of the beverage container lid of FIG. 1 withthe closure cap and return spring removed from the lid and the lockingring in the unlocked position as shown in FIG. 14A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A beverage container 10 using a beverage container lid 12 in accordancewith the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 attached to a beveragecontainer body 14 in a fully assembled state. A prior version of thebeverage container 10 is described and illustrated in U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 62/441,484, filed on Jan. 2, 2017, in U.S.Pat. No. 10,112,752, issued on Oct. 30, 2018, and in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/857,399 (U.S. Publication 2018-0186528), filedon Dec. 28, 2017, each of which is incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

The beverage container 10 describe herein is illustrated as a drinkingtumbler, but may also take the form of a glass, mug, cup, goblet, stein,tankard, vessel, beaker, drinkware, beverage ware, food container, orother vessel for containing beverages or liquid foods for drinking orconsumption, with or without a handle.

The beverage container body 14 has a downwardly tapering profile with aninterior body cavity 16 for holding a beverage and an upwardly open,upper end portion 18 at which the lid 12 is removably attachable. Ifdesired, the beverage container 10 may be constructed with asubstantially cylindrical body or a body of any other desired shape.Further, the beverage container body 14 may have a single-walled ordouble-walled construction, or any other desired construction.

As best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the lid 12 has a lid body 20 with a lidupper body portion 22 and a lid lower body portion 24 extending about avertically oriented central lid axis 26. The beverage container body 14is shown in the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1 as having a bodysidewall 28 extending fully and symmetrical about the lid axis 26. Thelid lower body portion 24 is sized and shaped to be inserted into theupper end portion 18 of the beverage container body 14 with a flange 30of the lid lower body portion 24 resting upon an upper end wall 32 ofthe beverage container body. An outer wall portion 34 of the lid lowerbody portion 24 has a groove 36 extending thereabout with a seal 38positioned therein. The seal 38 provides a fluid-tight seal between thelid 12 and an inner wall 40 of the beverage container body 14, at alocation within the interior body cavity 16 below the upper end 32 ofthe beverage container body, when the lid lower body portion 24 isinserted into the upper end portion 18 of the beverage container body.The seal 38 tends to provide a friction fit of the lid 12 to thebeverage container body 14 to prevent unintended separation of the lidfrom the beverage container body during normal use. As an alternativemechanism for attaching the lid 12 to the beverage container body 14,the lower body portion 24 has threads 41 by which the lid may beremovably attach to the beverage container body should the upper endportion 18 have correspond interior threads. Other forms of removablyconnecting the lid 12 to the beverage container body 14 may be used.

As best shown in FIGS. 6-8, located within the lid body 20 are arefillable reservoir chamber 42, a measurement cylinder or chamber 44,and an upper volume compensation cylinder or chamber 46. The reservoirchamber 42 has an upper end portion 48 and a lower end portion 50. Thereservoir chamber 42 and measurement chamber 44 are sized to hold adrink additive 52, as shown in FIGS. 9-11. The measurement chamber 44has an upper end portion 54 and a lower end portion 56. At least aportion of the measurement chamber 44 is positioned below the reservoirchamber 42 with the lower end portion 50 of the reservoir chamber influid communication with the upper end portion 54 of the measurementchamber. When attached to a beverage container body 14, the lower endportion 56 of the measurement chamber 44 is in fluid communication withthe upwardly open, upper end portion 18 and the interior body cavity 16of the beverage container body.

The upper chamber 46 has an upper end portion 58 and a lower end portion60. At least a portion of the upper chamber 46 is positioned above thereservoir chamber 42 with lower end portion 60 of the upper chamber influid communication with the upper end portion 48 of the reservoirchamber. The upper chamber 46 and the measurement chamber 44 arecylindrical is shape and have approximately the diameter.

An axially extending and axially movable plunger 62 is positioned withinthe lid body 20 interior of the reservoir chamber 42, the measurementchamber 44, and the upper chamber 46. The plunger 62 has an upper endportion 64 and a lower end portion 66, connected together by an axiallyextending middle shaft portion 67. The upper end portion 64 carries avolume compensation upper chamber seal 68, and the lower end portioncarries an upper seal 70 and a lower seal 72 below and axially spacedapart from the upper seal. The upper chamber seal 68, the upper seal 70and the lower seal 72 axially move in unison with the axial movement ofthe plunger 62.

The upper end portion 64 of the plunger 62 has an upwardly openingperimeter wall 74 extending fully and symmetrical about the lid axis 26and supported from below by four orthogonally arranged support arms 76,each being attached to the perimeter wall 74 and the middle shaftportion 67 of the plunger. The four support arms 76 having openings 78between adjacent ones of the support arms, best seen in FIGS. 12A and12B. An outward side 80 of the perimeter wall 74 carries the upperchamber seal 68 and an inward side 82 defines an interior filler port84. The bottom of the filler port 84 is in fluid communication with thefour openings 78 between the adjacent support arms 76 such that drinkadditive poured into the filler port 84 drains downward through the fouropenings 78 and into the reservoir chamber 42 below. The inward side 82of the perimeter wall 74 has an interiorly threaded portion 86.

A button in the form of a closure cap 88 is removably attached to theperimeter wall 74 to selectively close and seal the upper end of thefiller port 84. The cap 88 has a top wall 90, and an inward perimeterwall 92 and an outward perimeter wall 94 co-axially arranged andextending fully and symmetrical about the lid axis 26. The inward andoutward walls 92 and 94 extend downward from the top wall 90. An outwardside of the inward wall 92 has an exteriorly threaded portion 98 forthreadably engaging the interiorly threaded portion 86 of the perimeterwall 74. The inward wall 92 and the outward wall 94 are radially spacedapart to define a downwardly opening space 100 therebetween.

The upper chamber 46 includes a perimeter wall 102, the reservoirchamber 42 has a perimeter wall 104, and the measurement chamber 44 hasa perimeter wall 106, each extending fully and symmetrical about the lidaxis 26. A transversely oriented annular wall 108 has an outer portionattached to and in sealing engagement with the perimeter wall 104 of thereservoir chamber 42 at an upper end portion thereof and an innerportion attached to and in sealing engagement with the perimeter wall102 of the upper chamber 46 at a middle portion thereof. The perimeterwall 102 of the upper chamber 46 has an upper portion 102 a extendingupward above the annular wall 108 and an interior perimeter wall 110 ofthe lid upper body portion 22 extends above the annular wall 108, at aposition outward of the upper portion 102 a of the perimeter wall 102,to define an upwardly opening annular top recess 112 therebetween. Thelid upper body portion 22 further includes a drink well perimeter wall114 projecting upward above the interior perimeter wall 110 to define anupwardly opening drink well 116 in fluid communication with the toprecess 112. The perimeter wall 74 of the upper end portion 64 of theplunger 62 projects upward above the upper end of the perimeter wall 102of the upper chamber 46 and into the drink well 116. The closure cap 88when attached to the perimeter wall 74 is also at least partially withinthe drink well 116, conveniently positioned for access by the user fromabove the lid 12.

The closure cap 88 not only serves as a closure for the filler port 84,but also serves as the actuator by which a user to may manually move theplunger 62 downward, as will be described in detail below. Upward returnmovement of the plunger 62 is provided by a return coil spring 118.Referring to enlarged FIG. 6A, rotatably positioned within the toprecess 112 is a locking ring 120, which will be described in more detailbelow. An annular base portion 122 of the locking ring 120 within thetop recess 112 has a lower side slidably resting upon the annual wall108, and an upper side with a circumferentially extending springretainer groove 122 a therein. Within the closure cap 88, adjacent toits top wall 90, is a retainer ring 124 having a lower side with acircumferentially extending spring retainer groove 124 a. The retainerring 124 is preferably a bayonet mount or snap fit, which engages theupper end portion of the perimeter wall 74 of the plunger 62 such thatwhen the closure cap 88 is removed, the return coil spring 118 retainsits position relative to the perimeter wall 74 and keeps the return coilspring 118 in position extending about the perimeter wall 74 of theupper end portion 64 of the plunger 62.

When the closure cap 88 is threadably attached to the interiorlythreaded portion 86 of the perimeter wall 74, a lower spring end 118 aof the return coil spring 118 is positioned in the spring retainergroove 122 a and an upper spring end 118 b of the return coil spring ispositioned in the spring retainer groove 124 a, the return coil springis in coaxial alignment with the lid axis 26, and the perimeter wall 74of the plunger 62 is centrally positioned within and extends axialthrough the return coil spring. The return coil spring 118 applies anupward biasing force on the closure cap 88 with sufficient force to movethe closure cap (and hence the plunger 62 to which it is threadablyattached) upward when the user is not applying a downward force on theclosure cap. In such fashion, the closure cap 88 is provides a readilyaccessible, generally centrally located, filler port 84, as well asserves as an actuator button for operation of the plunger 62.Essentially, the closure cap 88 is a center pour through button foradding drink additive to the reservoir chamber 42 and for moving theplunger 62 downward to dispense drink additive.

In operation, the closure cap 88 serves as an actuator operablyconnected to the plunger 62 to move the plunger downward between first,second and third plunger positions, shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8,respectively, with the return coil spring 118 providing an upward forceto return the plunger to the first plunger position.

As shown in FIG. 6, the plunger 62 is in the first plunger position withthe upper chamber seal 68 located within the upper chamber 46 at theupper end portion 58 of the upper chamber and is in sealing contact withthe perimeter wall 102 of the upper chamber. In the first plungerposition, the upper seal 70 is located within the reservoir chamber 42at the lower end portion 50 of the reservoir chamber and is at leastpartially out of sealing contact with a perimeter wall 104 of thereservoir chamber (in the illustrated embodiment is completely out ofsealing contact with the perimeter wall 104). The upper seal 70, whilein the reservoir chamber 42, is at a location just above the upper endportion 54 of the measurement chamber 44. In the first plunger position,the lower seal 72 is located within the measurement chamber 44 at thelower end portion 56 of the measurement chamber in sealing contact witha perimeter wall 106 of the measurement chamber. The first plungerposition is the position of the plunger 62 to which the return coilspring 118 upwardly moves the plunger when the user is not applying adownward force on the pressing the closure cap 88.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, in the first plunger position, the plunger 62provides fluid communication of the drink additive 52 between thereservoir chamber 42 and the measurement chamber 44 for permitting drinkadditive in the reservoir chamber to flow into and fill the measurementchamber. However, the drink additive cannot flow out the lower endportion 56 of the measurement chamber and into the interior body cavity16 of the beverage container body 14 to which the lid 12 is attached.

As shown in FIG. 7, the plunger 62 is in the second plunger position.The user may move the plunger 62 from the initial first plunger positionshown in FIG. 6 to the second plunger position by pressing downward onthe closure cap 88 with one or more fingers with a force sufficient toovercome the upward spring force of the return coil spring 118. When inthe second plunger position, the upper chamber seal 68 has moved fartherdownward but remains within the upper chamber 46 at a location betweenthe upper end portion 58 and lower end portion 60 of the upper chamber,in sealing contact with the perimeter wall 102 of the upper chamber. Inthe second plunger position, the upper seal 70 has moved downward fromwithin the reservoir chamber 42 to a location within the measurementchamber 44 at the upper end portion 54 of the measurement chamber and insealing contact with the perimeter wall 106 of measurement chamber. Inthe second plunger position, the lower seal 72 has moved downward butremains within the measurement chamber 44 at a location toward the lowerend portion 56 of the measurement chamber and is in sealing contact witha perimeter wall 106 of the measurement chamber, at a location justabove a lower end wall 125 of the measurement chamber.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, when the plunger 62 is in the second plungerposition, both the upper seal 70 and the lower seal 72 are in sealingcontact with the perimeter wall 106 of the measurement chamber 44 forsealing a known quantity of a measured amount of the drink additive 126between the upper and lower seals. In the illustrated embodiment, themeasured amount of drink additive is about 0.5 ounces, but that amountmay be varied to fit the intended use. This measured amount of drinkadditive 126 is trapped between the upper and lower seals ready forsubsequent flow out of the lower end portion 56 of the measurementchamber 44 and into the interior body cavity 16 of the beveragecontainer body 14 to which the lid 12 may be attached. In other words,the upper seal 70 and lower seal 72 are spaced apart in a fixedrelationship to define a volume therebetween when the plunger 62 is inthe second plunger position with the upper and lower seals both in themeasurement chamber 44, and that volume determines size of the measuredamount of drink additive 126.

As shown in FIG. 8, the plunger 62 is in the third plunger position. Theuser may move the plunger 62 from the second plunger position shown inFIG. 7 to the third plunger position by continuing to press downward onthe closure cap 88 with one or more fingers with a force sufficient toovercome the upward spring force of the return coil spring 118. When inthe third plunger position, the upper chamber seal 68 has moved downwardbut remains within the upper chamber 46 at the lower end portion 60 ofthe upper chamber and is in sealing contact with the perimeter wall 102of the upper chamber. In the third plunger position, the upper seal 70has moved farther downward within the upper end portion 54 of themeasurement chamber 44 but remains in the measurement chamber in sealingcontact with the perimeter wall 106 of the measurement chamber. In thethird plunger position, the lower seal 72 has moved downward from withinthe measurement chamber 44 to a location below the lower end portion 56of the measurement chamber and the lower end wall 125 of the measurementchamber. In this position, the lower seal 72 is at least partially outof sealing contact with the perimeter wall 106 of the measurementchamber (and in the illustrated embodiment is completely out of sealingcontact with the perimeter wall 106). When so positioned, fluidcommunication exists between the measurement chamber 44 and the interiorbody cavity 16 of the beverage container body 14 to which the lid 12 isattached. This permits the measured amount of drink additive 126 thatwas previously trapped in the measurement chamber 44 between the upperand lower seals 70 and 72 to flow into the interior body cavity 16.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, when the plunger 62 is in the third plungerposition, the upper seal 70 is in sealing contact with the perimeterwall 106 of the measurement chamber 44. This blocks any drink additivelocated in the reservoir chamber 42 or the portion of the measurementchamber above the upper seal from flowing downward past the upper sealand out of the lid 12. However, the measured amount of drink additive126 in the measurement chamber 44, that was trapped between the upperand lower seals 70 and 72 when the plunger was in the second plungerposition, is free to flow downward past the lower seal 72 and out of thelower end portion 56 of the measurement chamber 44 and into the interiorbody cavity 16 of the beverage container body 14 to which the lid 12 isattached for mixing with the beverage within the cavity. While thisoccurs, the upper seal 70 retains the rest of the drink additive withinthe lid so as to be available for dispensing from the lid at a latertime, as will be described below. Essentially, one simple relativelyshort push downward of the closure cap 88 by the user releases aprecisely measured single measured amount of drink additive 126. In FIG.11, the downward flow of the measured amount of drink additive 126 thathas exited the measurement chamber 44 and flowed past the lower seal 72is identified by reference numeral 128.

In the illustrated embodiment, the upper seal 70 and the lower seal 72each have a first transverse cross-sectional size and shape and an outerperimeter seal portion, the perimeter wall 104 of the reservoir chamber42 has a second transverse cross-sectional size and shape interioropening different from the first transverse cross-sectional size andshape, and the perimeter wall 106 of the measurement chamber 44 has athird cross-sectional size and shape interior opening the same as thefirst transverse cross-sectional size and shape. As such, when theplunger 62 is in the first plunger position the outer perimeter sealportion of the upper seal 70 is at least partially out of sealingcontact with the reservoir chamber perimeter wall 104 and the outerperimeter seal portion of the lower seal 72 is in sealing contact withthe measurement chamber perimeter wall 106, and when the plunger is inthe second plunger position the outer perimeter seal portion of theupper seal and the outer perimeter seal portion of the lower seal are insealing contact with the measurement chamber perimeter wall.

To dispense the full measured amount of drink additive 126 in themeasurement chamber 44 into the interior body cavity 16 of the beveragecontainer body 14 to which the lid 12 is attached, the user must holdthe plunger 62 in the third plunger position long enough for themeasured amount of drink additive to fully drain out of the lid. Unlessthe drink additive has a high viscosity, only the momentary hold down ofthe plunger 62, which occurs when pressing the plunger fully downward,is needed. Upon release of the downward pressure on the closure cap 88,the spring force of the return coil spring 118 automatically moves theplunger 62 upward until the plunger is returned to the first plungerposition shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 9. When the plunger 62 is again in thefirst plunger position, the upper seal 70 will have moved from themeasurement chamber 44 back into the reservoir chamber 42, and the upperseal will be at least partially out of sealing contact with a perimeterwall 104 of the reservoir chamber. This allows drink additive 52 in thereservoir chamber to again flow downward past the upper seal and intothe measurement chamber. Depending on the volume capacity of thereservoir chamber 42 and how much drink additive the user has put intothe reservoir chamber through the filler port 84, repeated depressionsof the closure cap 88, through the full cycle of operation describedabove, will allow dispensing of multiple measured amounts of drinkadditive 126 into the interior body cavity 16 of one or more beveragecontainer bodies 14 to which the lid 12 is attached by the user.

When the user removes the downward pressure being applied to the closurecap 88 and the return coil spring 118 automatically moves the closurecap and plunger 62 upward to the first plunger position, the upwardreturn movement of the plunger is limited by a radially inwardprojecting upper perimeter stop wall 130 (best seen in FIG. 6A) attachedat the top of the perimeter wall 102 of the upper chamber 46. When theplunger 62 is fully returned to the first plunger position, the upperchamber seal 68 is in sealing engagement with the upper perimeter stopwall 130 to both prevent further upward travel of the plunger and alsoto provide a fluid seal at the upper end of the perimeter wall 102 toprevent fluid leakage from the upper end portion 58 of the upper chamber46. Similarly, the upward return movement of the plunger 62 is limitedby a radially inward projecting lower perimeter stop wall 132 (see FIG.6) within the measurement chamber 44. When the plunger 62 is fullyreturned to the first plunger position, the lower seal 72 is in sealingengagement with the lower perimeter stop wall 132 to prevent furtherupward travel of the plunger and also to provide a fluid seal at thelower end of portion of the perimeter wall 106 of the measurementchamber 44 to prevent fluid leakage from the lower end portion 56 of themeasurement chamber.

The movement of the upper chamber seal 68 in the upper chamber 46 as theplunger 62 is move downward from the first plunger position to thesecond plunger position, and then to the third plunger position wasdescribed above. The downward movement of the upper chamber seal 68 inunison with the downward movement of the upper and lower seals 70 and 72tends to maintain a constant volume of the combination of drink additiveand air within the interior space of the lid body 20, as measuredbetween the upper chamber seal 68 and the lower seal 72, as the plunger62 moves downward between its uppermost first plunger position and itslowermost third plunger position. As a result, there is no need to havea vent aperture providing fluid communication between the interior spaceof the lid body 20 above the drink additive 52 in the reservoir chamberand the atmosphere external to the interior space so as to allow airinflow to avoid the tendency to create a vacuum within the interiorspace as the upper and lower seals 70 and 72 move downward within theinterior space. This is because the cumulative volume of the portions ofthe upper chamber, the reservoir chamber and the measurement chamberlocated between the upper chamber seal and the lower seal remainsconstant as the plunger moves from the first plunger position to thesecond plunger position, and as the plunger moves from the secondplunger position toward the third plunger position while still insealing contact with the measurement chamber. By avoiding creation of avacuum within the interior space, the user, when moving the plunger 62downward by pressing downward on the closure cap 88 with one or morefingers, does not experience increasing resistance to the downwardmovement of closure cap as the plunger moves progressively downward.This makes the downward force the user must apply to the closure cap 88more even throughout its downward travel and reduces the maximum amountof downward force required from that which would otherwise be required,particularly during the later portion of the downward movement of theclosure cap. In addition, eliminating the need for a vent apertureeliminates the potential of undesirable fluid leakage out of the ventaperture.

To drink a beverage in the interior body cavity 16 of the beveragecontainer body 14 with the lid 12 attached to the beverage containerbody (with or without a drink additive having been added to thebeverage), the lid body 20 has a beverage drinking channel 134 extendingupwardly between a lower entry channel opening 136 located toward alower end portion 138 of the lid lower body portion 24 and a drinkingaperture 140 provided in a bottom wall 142 of the drink well 116 (seeFIG. 3). The beverage drinking channel 134 is locate outward of thereservoir chamber 42 and the upper chamber 46. Upon sufficient tiltingof the beverage container 10, beverage in the interior body cavity 16 ofthe beverage container body 14 will enter the lower entry channelopening 136, travel upward through the beverage drinking channel 134,and then exit out the drinking aperture 140 into the drink well 116,from which the beverage can be drunk by the user.

A rotatable drink seal arm 144 has a distal end carrying a drinkaperture seal 146 and a clasp 148 and a proximal end have two spacedapart attachment members 150 pivotally attached to the drink well bottomwall 142 on opposite sides of the closure cap 88 (see FIGS. 2, 3, 5, 12Aand 13C). The drink seal arm 144 is shown in the closed position in FIG.2 and in the opened position in FIG. 3. In the closed position, thedrink aperture seal 146 closes the drink aperture 140 as shown in FIGS.6-11 against leakage during transport or storage. The clasp 148releasably grips the drink well perimeter wall 114 to secure the drinkseal arm 144 against unintended rotation when the rotatable arm is inthe closed position in order to maintain the drink aperture 140 sealedby the drink aperture seal 146. The space between the two spaced apartattachment members 150 of the drink seal arm 144 is sufficiently largeto avoid the closure cap 88 interfering with the rotation of the drinkseal arm between its closed and opened positions.

As described above, in operation, the closure cap 88 serves as anactuator operably connected to the plunger 62 to move the plungerdownward between first, second and third plunger positions, shown inFIGS. 6, 7 and 8, respectively, with the return coil spring 118providing an upward force to return the plunger to the first plungerposition. During this vertical up and down travel of the plunger 62, itis preferred to prevent rotation of the plunger. To accomplish this,four orthogonally arranged and upwardly extending guides 152 areprovided (most visible in FIGS. 5-8, 13B and 14B), each being attachedto an outer side of the perimeter wall 74 of the upper end portion 64 ofthe plunger 62. Each of the four guides 152 is located above and inalignment with a different one of the four support arms 76. Fourcorrespondingly arranged slots 154 (see FIGS. 5, 12A, 13A, 13C, and 14C)are provided in the upper perimeter stop wall 130 attached at the top ofthe perimeter wall 102 of the upper chamber 46. Each of the four guides152 is disposed in a different one of the slots 154. The slots are sizedto permit uninhibited upward movement of the guides therein but tominimize lateral/rotational movement of the guides within the slots andthereby minimize rotation of the plunger 62 as it moves up and downbetween the first, second and third plunger positions. It is noted thatthree of the four guides are single planar members, whereas the fourthguide (indicated as 152(A)) is a pair of spaced apart members. The slot154, which receives the fourth guide, is enlarged to accommodate thefourth guide while still minimizing rotation/later movement of thefourth guide within the slot. The enlarged slot also serves as a key toinsure the plunger 62 is installed within the lid body 20 with thedesired rotational orientation since only one rotational position of theplunger 62 will align the fourth guide with the enlarged slot whenassembling the plunger within the lid body.

The locking ring 120 rotatably positioned in the top recess 112 allows auser to selectively, manually lock the closure cap against actuationwhen the plunger 62 is in the first plunger position (i.e., againstdownward movement of the plunger from the first plunger position), andto securely seal the drink additive within the lid body 20 againstleaking out. The locking ring 120 is usable by the user to preventunintentional actuation of the closure cap 88 during transport, storageand drinking of a beverage from the beverage container 10, which wouldundesirably dispense drink additive in the lid 12 into the interior bodycavity 16. Since the locking ring 120 locks the plunger 62 in the firstplunger position where all the drink additive within the lid body 20 islocated between the upper chamber seal 68 and the lower seal 72, thelocking ring is also usable by the user to securely seal the drinkadditive therein against leakage out of the lid body during transport,storage or drinking of a beverage from the beverage container 10.Besides simply preventing leakage, this can be useful if the user wishesto first drink some or all of a beverage within the interior body cavity16 without any of the drink additive sealed within the lid body 20 beingadded, and then drink the remainder of that beverage or a differentbeverage placed in the interior body cavity to which the user wishes toadd the drink additive.

The locking ring 120 and its operation is best illustrated in FIGS.13A-14C, which for clarity show the closure cap 88 and the return coilspring 118 removed.

As described above, the annular base portion 122 of the locking ring 120is rotatably disposed within the top recess 112 with its lower sideslidably engaging the annual wall 108, and with the spring retainergroove 122 a in its upper side receiving the lower spring end 118 a ofthe return coil spring 118 when the closure cap 88 is threadablyattached to the interiorly threaded portion 86 of the perimeter wall 74.The locking ring 120 is manually rotatable between locked and unlockedpositions by the user rotating a rotatable tab 156. The tab 156 isrotatable between a locked position, indicated by the lock icon 158 onan upper surface 160 of the lid upper body portion 22 and an unlockedposition indicated by the unlock icon 162 on the upper surface of thelid upper body portion. An upwardly extending connector member 164 isattached to and extends between the tab 156 and the annular base portion122 to transmit rotation of the tab by the user to the annular baseportion to rotate the annular base portion.

The locking ring 120 includes two transversely oriented lock plates 166positioned above the annular base portion 122 of the locking ring andprojecting radially inward beyond the annular base portion. An upwardlyextending connector member 168 is attached to and extends between eachof the lock plates 166 and the annular base portion 122 to transmitrotation of the annular base portion, resulting from the user rotatingthe tab between the locked and unlocked positions, to the lock plates.The lock plates 166 are at diametrically opposed positions, relative tothe annular base portion 122, the lock plate positions are 90 degreesfrom the position of the tab 156.

Two of the four guides 152, indicated as 152(B) and 152(C), which aresingle planar members and diametrically opposed, each being at arotational position 90 degrees from the guide 152(A), have a lower end170 at a raised height such that when the plunger 62 is in the firstplunger position, the lower ends of the guides 152(B) and 152(C) areslightly higher than the upper surfaces of the lock plates 166. As such,when the plunger 62 is in the first plunger position, the user mayrotate the tab 156 to adjacent the lock icon 158 (shown in FIGS.13A-13C), causing the resulting rotation of the annular base portion 122to rotate the two lock plates 166 to positions immediately below theraised lower ends 170 of the guides 152(B) and 152(C). With the lockplates 166 in such positions, a downward force on the closure cap 88that would otherwise be sufficient to move the plunger 62 downward tothe second plunger position to allow drink additive in the reservoirchamber 42 to enter the measurement chamber 44 or to move the plungerdownward to the third plunger position to dispense drink additive fromthe measurement chamber, will result in neither occurring. Thus, thelock plates 166 prevent unintended downward force applied to the closurecap 88 from producing unintended downward movement of the plunger 62during transport, storage or drinking of a beverage from the beveragecontainer 10.

For those times when the user does not desire to lock the closure cap 88against downward movement, with the plunger 62 in the first plungerposition, the user may rotate the tab 156 to adjacent the unlock icon162 (shown in FIGS. 14A-14C), causing the resulting rotation of theannular base portion 122 to rotate the two lock plates 166 to positionsnot below the raised lower ends 170 of the guides 152(B) and 152(C)(i.e., to positions between adjacent pairs of the guides 152 which areclear of the guides) where the lock plates will not interfere withdownward or upward movement of the plunger. As described above, with thelock plates 166 so positioned, the user may operate the closure cap 88to move the plunger 62 downward to the second plunger position to allowdrink additive in the reservoir chamber 42 to enter the measurementchamber 44 or to move the plunger fully downward to the third plungerposition to dispense the measured amount of drink additive 126 from themeasurement chamber.

It is noted that when, with the plunger 62 is in the first plungerposition, the user rotates the tab 156 to adjacent the lock icon 158,causing the resulting rotation of the annular base portion 122 to rotatethe two lock plates 166 to positions immediately below the raised lowerends 170 of the guides 152(B) and 152(C) and prevent downward movementof the closure cap 88, the user may still rotate the drink seal arm 144to the opened position to permit drinking a beverage in the interiorbody cavity 16 of the beverage container body 14 and may still removethe closure cap to pour drink additive into the filler port 84 to addthe drink additive to the reservoir chamber 42. Neither of theseactivities is prevented by the locking ring 120 locking the closure capagainst unintentional actuation and hence preventing unintended downwardmovement of the plunger 62.

For ease of carrying the lid 12, with or without the beverage containerbody 14 attached, the lid body 20 has a lanyard attachment 172.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that,based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be madewithout departing from this invention and its broader aspects and,therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope allsuch changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scopeof this invention. Furthermore, it is to be understood that theinvention is solely defined by the appended claims. It will beunderstood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein,and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appendedclaims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.).

It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specificnumber of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intentwill be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of suchrecitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimrecitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “atleast one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use ofdefinite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, evenif a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitlyrecited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitationshould typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number(e.g., the bare statement of “two recitations,” without other modifiers,typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations).

The invention claimed is:
 1. A lid positionable at an open upper endportion of a beverage container having an interior cavity for holding abeverage, comprising: a refillable reservoir chamber having an upper endportion and a lower end portion, the reservoir chamber being sized tohold a drink additive; a measurement chamber having an upper end portionand a lower end portion, at least a portion of the measurement chamberbeing positioned below the reservoir chamber with the lower end portionof the reservoir chamber in fluid communication with the upper endportion of the measurement chamber; an upper chamber having an upper endportion and a lower end portion, at least a portion of the upper chamberbeing positioned above the reservoir chamber with the upper end portionof the reservoir chamber in fluid communication with the lower endportion of the upper chamber; a plunger having an upper chamber seal, anupper seal and a lower seal; and an actuator operably connected to theplunger to move the plunger between first, second and third plungerpositions, (a) in the first plunger position the upper seal being atleast partially out of sealing contact with the reservoir chamber andthe lower seal being in sealing contact with the measurement chamber toprovide fluid communication between the reservoir chamber and themeasurement chamber for permitting drink additive in the reservoirchamber to flow into the measurement chamber but not out the lower endportion of the measurement chamber, and the upper chamber seal being ina first upper chamber position in sealing contact with the upperchamber, (b) in the second plunger position the upper seal being insealing contact with the measurement chamber and the lower seal being insealing contact with the measurement chamber for sealing a firstquantity of the drink additive between the upper seal and the lowerseal, and the upper chamber seal being in a second upper chamberposition in sealing contact with the upper chamber, the second upperchamber position being lower than the first upper chamber position by afirst amount, and (c) in the third plunger position the upper seal beingin sealing contact with the measurement chamber and the lower seal beingat least partially out of sealing contact with the measurement chamberto provide fluid communication between the measurement chamber and theinterior cavity of the beverage container for permitting the firstquantity of drink additive to flow into the interior cavity of thebeverage container, and the upper chamber seal being in a third upperchamber position in sealing contact with the upper chamber, the thirdupper chamber position being lower than the second upper chamberposition by a second amount.
 2. The lid of claim 1, wherein the firstamount of movement of the upper chamber seal from the first upperchamber position to the second upper chamber position is equal to anamount of movement of the upper seal resulting from movement of theplunger from the first plunger position to the second plunger position,and the second amount of movement of the upper chamber seal from thesecond upper chamber position to the third upper chamber position isequal to an amount of movement of the upper seal resulting from movementof the plunger from the second plunger position to the third plungerposition.
 3. The lid of claim 1, wherein the first amount of movement ofthe upper chamber seal from the first upper chamber position to thesecond upper chamber position is equal to an amount of downward movementof the upper seal resulting from movement of the plunger from the firstplunger position to the second plunger position, and the second amountof movement of the upper chamber seal from the second upper chamberposition to the third upper chamber position is equal to an amount ofdownward movement of the upper seal resulting from movement of theplunger from the second plunger position to the third plunger position.4. The lid of claim 1, wherein when the plunger is in the first plungerposition the upper seal is within the reservoir chamber and the lowerseal is within the measurement chamber, when the plunger is in thesecond plunger position the upper seal and the lower seal are within themeasurement chamber, and when the plunger is in the third plungerposition the upper seal is within the measurement chamber and the lowerseal is out of the measurement chamber.
 5. The lid of claim 1, whereinthe upper seal and the lower seal each have a first transversecross-sectional size and shape and an outer perimeter seal portion, thereservoir chamber has a sidewall defining a second transversecross-sectional size and shape interior opening different from the firsttransverse cross-sectional size and shape, and the measurement chamberhas a sidewall defining a third cross-sectional size and shape interioropening sufficiently the same as the first transverse cross-sectionalsize and shape, such that when the plunger is in the first plungerposition the upper seal outer perimeter seal portion is at leastpartially out of sealing contact with the reservoir chamber sidewall andthe lower seal outer perimeter seal portion is in sealing contact withthe measurement chamber sidewall, and such that when the plunger is inthe second plunger position the upper seal outer perimeter seal portionand the lower seal outer perimeter seal portion are in sealing contactwith the measurement chamber sidewall.
 6. The lid of claim 1, whereinthe lid includes an upper lid portion having a upwardly opening recesswith a lower end wall, and the actuator includes a manually operablebutton positioned at least partially within the recess and operablyconnected to the plunger, with the downward movement of the buttonwithin the recess moving the plunger sequentially between the first,second and third plunger positions.
 7. The lid of claim 6, wherein theactuator includes a biasing member positioned at least partially withinthe recess and applying a biasing upward return force to return theplunger to the first plunger position when an actuating force is removedfrom the button.
 8. The lid of claim 1, wherein the actuator includes amanually operable button operably connected to the plunger to move theplunger between the first, second and third plunger positions.
 9. Thelid of claim 8, wherein the actuator includes a biasing member applyinga biasing upward return force on the button to return the plunger to thefirst plunger position when an actuating force is removed from thebutton.
 10. The lid of claim 8, wherein the plunger has an upper plungerend portion extending upwardly into the upper chamber and having anupwardly open end and at least one aperture in fluid communication withthe reservoir chamber to serve as a filler port for adding drinkadditive to the reservoir chamber through the upwardly open end of theupper plunger end portion, the button being removably attachable to theupper plunger end portion of the plunger to selectively close theupwardly open end of the upper plunger end portion.
 11. The lid of claim10, wherein the upper chamber seal is carried by the upper plunger endportion.
 12. The lid of claim 1, further including a drink channelhaving an upper end portion in fluid communication with a drink apertureand a lower end portion extending downward into the interior cavity ofthe beverage container in fluid communication therewith when the lid isat least partially positioned within the open upper end portion of thebeverage container, the drink channel being located outward of thereservoir, measurement and upper chambers and out of direct fluidcommunication therewith.
 13. The lid of claim 12, wherein the drinkchannel is defined at least in part by an outer wall portion of thereservoir chamber.
 14. A lid positionable at an open upper end portionof a beverage container having an interior cavity for holding abeverage, comprising: a reservoir chamber sized to hold a drinkadditive; a measurement chamber in fluid communication with thereservoir chamber, and when the lid is at least partially within theopen upper end portion of the beverage container, the measurementchamber is in fluid communication with the interior cavity of thebeverage container; a compensation chamber in fluid communication withthe reservoir chamber; first and second seals; and an actuator operablyconnected to the first and second seals to move the first and secondseals in unison between first, second and third positions, (a) in thefirst position the first seal is configured to provide fluidcommunication between the reservoir chamber and the measurement chamberfor permitting drink additive in the reservoir chamber to flow into themeasurement chamber but not between the measurement chamber and theinterior cavity of the beverage container, and the second seal ispositioned in the compensation chamber in a first compensation chamberposition in sealing contact with the compensation chamber, (b) in thesecond position the first seal is configured to confine a first quantityof drink additive in the measurement chamber and maintain the firstquantity of the drink additive separate from the remainder of the drinkadditive in the reservoir chamber, and the second seal is positioned inthe compensation chamber in a second compensation chamber position insealing contact with the compensation chamber, as the first and secondseals move from the first position to the second position, thecumulative volume of the portions of the compensation chamber, thereservoir chamber and the measurement chamber located between the firstand second seals remains constant, and (c) in the third position the atleast one seal configured to permit the first quantity of drink additiveto flow into the interior cavity of the beverage container whilepreventing additional drink additive in the reservoir chamber to flowinto the interior cavity of the beverage container, and the second sealis positioned in the compensation chamber in a third compensationchamber position in sealing contact with the compensation chamber, asthe first and second seals move from the second position toward thethird position, the cumulative volume of the portions of thecompensation chamber, the reservoir chamber and the measurement chamberlocated between the first seal and the second seal remains constant. 15.The lid of claim 14, wherein the first seal includes an upper seal and alower seal, with the space therebetween defining a volume within whichthe first quantity of drink additive is confined when the first andsecond seals are in the second position.
 16. A lid positionable at anopen upper end portion of a beverage container having an interior cavityfor holding a beverage, comprising: a reservoir chamber sized to hold adrink additive; a measurement chamber in fluid communication with thereservoir chamber, and when the lid is at least partially within theopen upper end portion of the beverage container, the measurementchamber is in fluid communication with the interior cavity of thebeverage container; a compensation chamber in fluid communication withthe reservoir chamber; first and second seals; a compensation chamberseal; and an actuator operably connected to the first, second andcompensation chamber seals to move the first, second and compensationchamber seals in unison between first, second and third positions, (a)in the first position the first and second seals are configured toprovide fluid communication between the reservoir chamber and themeasurement chamber for permitting drink additive in the reservoirchamber to flow into the measurement chamber while the second sealprevents drink additive in the reservoir and measurement chambersflowing out of the measurement chamber and into the interior cavity ofthe beverage container, (b) in the second position the first and secondseals are configured to confine a first quantity of drink additive inthe measurement chamber and maintain the first quantity of the drinkadditive separate from the remainder of the drink additive in thereservoir chamber while the second seal prevents the first quantity ofdrink additive in the measurement chamber from flowing out of themeasurement chamber and into the interior cavity of the beveragecontainer, (c) in the third position the first and second seals areconfigured to permit the first quantity of drink additive in themeasurement chamber to flow into the interior cavity of the beveragecontainer while the first seal prevents any additional drink additivefrom flowing into the into the interior cavity of the beveragecontainer, (d) as the first and second seals move from the firstposition to the second position, the compensation chamber seal isconfigured to maintain constant the cumulative volume of the portions ofthe compensation chamber, the reservoir chamber and the measurementchamber located between the compensation chamber seal and the secondseal, and (e) as the first and second seals move from the secondposition to the third position, the compensation chamber seal isconfigured to maintain constant the cumulative volume of the portions ofthe compensation chamber, the reservoir chamber and the measurementchamber located between the compensation chamber seal and the secondseal while the second seal remains in sealing contact with themeasurement chamber.
 17. A lid positionable at an open upper end portionof a beverage container having an interior cavity for holding abeverage, comprising: a reservoir chamber having an inflow opening andan outflow opening, the reservoir chamber being sized to hold a drinkadditive; a measurement chamber having an inflow opening and an outflowopening, the outflow opening of the reservoir chamber being in fluidcommunication with the inflow opening of the measurement chamber; acompensation chamber in fluid communication with the inflow opening ofthe reservoir chamber; a first seal; a second seal; a third seal; and anactuator operably connected to the first seal, the second seal and thethird seal to move the first, second and third seals in unison betweenfirst, second and third positions, (a) in the first position the firstseal is in a first compensation chamber position in sealing contact withthe compensation chamber, the second seal is at least partially out ofsealing contact with the reservoir chamber, and the third seal is insealing contact with the measurement chamber to provide fluidcommunication between outflow opening of the reservoir chamber and theinflow opening of the measurement chamber for permitting drink additivein the reservoir chamber to flow into the measurement chamber throughthe inflow opening of the measurement chamber but not out the outflowopening of the measurement chamber, (b) in the second position the firstseal is in a second compensation chamber position in sealing contactwith the compensation chamber, the second seal is in sealing contactwith the measurement chamber and the third seal is in sealing contactwith the measurement chamber for sealing a first quantity of the drinkadditive between the second seal and the third seal out of fluidcommunication with the outflow opening of the reservoir chamber and outof fluid communication with the inflow and outflow openings of themeasurement chamber, as the first, second and third seals move from thefirst position to the second position, the cumulative volume of theportions of the compensation chamber, the reservoir chamber and themeasurement chamber located between the first seal and the third sealremains constant, and (c) in the third position the first seal is in athird compensation chamber position in sealing contact with thecompensation chamber, the second seal is in sealing contact with themeasurement chamber and the third seal is at least partially out ofsealing contact with the measurement chamber to provide fluidcommunication between the measurement chamber and the interior cavity ofthe beverage container and permit the first quantity of drink additiveto flow into the interior cavity of the beverage container through theoutflow opening of the measurement chamber, as the first, second andthird seals move from the second position toward the third positionwhile third seal is still in sealing contact with the measurementchamber, the cumulative volume of the portions of the compensationchamber, the reservoir chamber and the measurement chamber locatedbetween the first seal and the third seals remains constant.
 18. A lidpositionable at an open upper end portion of a beverage container havingan interior cavity for holding a beverage, comprising: a refillablereservoir chamber having an upper end portion and a lower end portion,the reservoir chamber being sized to hold a drink additive; ameasurement chamber having an upper end portion and a lower end portion,at least a portion of the measurement chamber being positioned below thereservoir chamber with the lower end portion of the reservoir chamber influid communication with the upper end portion of the measurementchamber; an upper chamber having an upper end portion, a lower endportion and a mid-portion between the upper and the lower end portionsof the upper chamber, at least a portion of the upper chamber beingpositioned above the reservoir chamber with the upper end portion of thereservoir chamber in fluid communication with the lower end portion ofthe upper chamber; a plunger having an upper chamber seal, an upper sealand a lower seal; and an actuator operably connected to the plunger tomove the plunger between first, second and third plunger positions, (a)in the first plunger position the upper seal being at least partiallyout of sealing contact with the reservoir chamber and the lower sealbeing in sealing contact with the measurement chamber to provide fluidcommunication between the reservoir chamber and the measurement chamberfor permitting drink additive in the reservoir chamber to flow into themeasurement chamber but not out the lower end portion of the measurementchamber, and the upper chamber seal being in the upper end portion ofthe upper chamber in sealing contact with the upper chamber, (b) in thesecond plunger position the upper seal being in sealing contact with themeasurement chamber and the lower seal being in sealing contact with themeasurement chamber for sealing a first quantity of the drink additivebetween the upper seal and the lower seal, and the upper chamber sealbeing in the mid-portion of the upper chamber in sealing contact withthe upper chamber, and (c) in the third plunger position the upper sealbeing in sealing contact with the measurement chamber and the lower sealbeing at least partially out of sealing contact with the measurementchamber to provide fluid communication between the measurement chamberand the interior cavity of the beverage container for permitting thefirst quantity of drink additive to flow into the interior cavity of thebeverage container, and the upper chamber seal being in the lower endportion of the upper chamber in sealing contact with the upper chamber.19. The lid of claim 18, wherein the amount of movement of upper chamberseal from the upper end portion of the upper chamber to the mid-portionof the upper chamber resulting from movement of the plunger from thefirst plunger position to the second plunger position is equal to theamount of movement of the upper seal resulting from movement of theplunger from the first plunger position to the second plunger position,and the amount of movement of upper chamber seal from the mid-portion ofthe upper chamber to the lower portion of the upper chamber resultingfrom movement of the plunger from the second plunger position to thethird plunger position is equal to the amount of movement of the upperseal resulting from movement of the plunger from the second plungerposition to the third plunger position.
 20. The lid of claim 18, whereinthe amount of movement of upper chamber seal from the upper end portionof the upper chamber to the mid-portion of the upper chamber resultingfrom movement of the plunger from the first plunger position to thesecond plunger position is equal to the amount of movement of the upperseal resulting from movement of the plunger from the first plungerposition to the second plunger position, and the amount of movement ofupper chamber seal from the mid-portion of the upper chamber to thelower portion of the upper chamber resulting from movement of theplunger from the second plunger position to the third plunger positionis equal to the amount of movement of the upper seal resulting frommovement of the plunger from the second plunger position to the thirdplunger position.
 21. A lid positionable at an open upper end portion ofa beverage container having an interior cavity for holding a beverage,comprising: a refillable reservoir chamber having an upper end portionand a lower end portion, the reservoir chamber being sized to hold adrink additive; a measurement chamber having an upper end portion and alower end portion, at least a portion of the measurement chamber beingpositioned below the reservoir chamber with the lower end portion of thereservoir chamber in fluid communication with the upper end portion ofthe measurement chamber; an upper chamber having an upper end portion, alower end portion and a mid-portion between the upper and the lower endportions of the upper chamber, at least a portion of the upper chamberbeing positioned above the reservoir chamber with the upper end portionof the reservoir chamber in fluid communication with the lower endportion of the upper chamber; a plunger having an upper chamber seal, anupper seal and a lower seal; and an actuator operably connected to theplunger to move the plunger between first, second and third plungerpositions, (a) in the first plunger position the upper seal being atleast partially out of sealing contact with the reservoir chamber andthe lower seal being in sealing contact with the measurement chamber toprovide fluid communication between the reservoir chamber and themeasurement chamber for permitting drink additive in the reservoirchamber to flow into the measurement chamber but not out the lower endportion of the measurement chamber, and the upper chamber seal being inthe upper end portion of the upper chamber in sealing contact with theupper chamber, (b) in the second plunger position the upper seal beingin sealing contact with the measurement chamber and the lower seal beingin sealing contact with the measurement chamber for sealing a firstquantity of the drink additive between the upper seal and the lowerseal, and the upper chamber seal being in the mid-portion of the upperchamber in sealing contact with the upper chamber, as the plunger movesfrom the first plunger position to the second plunger position, thecumulative volume of the portions of the upper chamber, the reservoirchamber and the measurement chamber located between the upper chamberseal and the lower seal remains constant, and (c) in the third plungerposition the upper seal being in sealing contact with the measurementchamber and the lower seal being at least partially out of sealingcontact with the measurement chamber to provide fluid communicationbetween the measurement chamber and the interior cavity of the beveragecontainer for permitting the first quantity of drink additive to flowinto the interior cavity of the beverage container, and the upperchamber seal being in the lower end portion of the upper chamber insealing contact with the upper chamber, as the plunger moves from thesecond plunger position toward the third plunger position while thelower seal is still in sealing contact with the measurement chamber, thecumulative volume of the portions of the upper chamber, the reservoirchamber and the measurement chamber located between the upper chamberseal and the lower seal remains constant.
 22. A lid positionable at anopen upper end portion of a beverage container having an interior cavityfor holding a beverage, comprising: a refillable reservoir chamberhaving a first end portion and a second end portion, the reservoirchamber being sized to hold a drink additive; a measurement chamberhaving a first end portion and a second end portion, the second endportion of the reservoir chamber being in fluid communication with thefirst end portion of the measurement chamber; a compensation chamberhaving a first end portion and a second end portion, the second endportion of the compensation chamber being in fluid communication withthe first end portion of the reservoir chamber; a plunger having anfirst seal, a second seal and a third seal; and an actuator operablyconnected to the plunger to move the plunger between first, second andthird plunger positions, (a) in the first plunger position the firstseal is in a first compensation chamber position in sealing contact withthe compensation chamber, the second seal is at least partially out ofsealing contact with the reservoir chamber, and the third seal is insealing contact with the measurement chamber to provide fluidcommunication between the reservoir chamber and the measurement chamberfor permitting drink additive in the reservoir chamber to flow into themeasurement chamber but not out the second end portion of themeasurement chamber, (b) in the second plunger position the first sealis in a second compensation chamber position, different from the firstcompensation chamber position, in sealing contact with the compensationchamber, the second seal is in sealing contact with the measurementchamber, and the third seal is in sealing contact with the measurementchamber for sealing a first quantity of the drink additive between thesecond seal and the third seal, as the plunger moves from the firstplunger position to the second plunger position, the cumulative volumeof the portions of the compensation chamber, the reservoir chamber andthe measurement chamber located between the first seal and the thirdseal remains constant, and (c) in the third plunger position the firstseal is in a third compensation chamber position, different from thefirst and second compensation chamber positions, in sealing contact withthe compensation chamber, the second seal is in sealing contact with themeasurement chamber, and the third seal is at least partially out ofsealing contact with the measurement chamber to provide fluidcommunication between the measurement chamber and the interior cavity ofthe beverage container for permitting the first quantity of drinkadditive to flow into the interior cavity of the beverage container, asthe plunger moves from the second plunger position toward the thirdplunger position while third seal is still in sealing contact with themeasurement chamber, the cumulative volume of the portions of thecompensation chamber, the reservoir chamber and the measurement chamberlocated between the first seal and the third seals remains constant. 23.A lid positionable at an open upper end portion of a beverage containerhaving an interior cavity for holding a beverage, comprising: arefillable reservoir chamber having a first end portion and a second endportion, the reservoir chamber being sized to hold a drink additive; ameasurement chamber having a first end portion and a second end portion,the second end portion of the reservoir chamber being in fluidcommunication with the first end portion of the measurement chamber; acompensation chamber having a first end portion and a second endportion, the second end portion of the compensation chamber being influid communication with the first end portion of the reservoir chamber;and a plunger having an first seal, a second seal and a third seal, theplunger being movable between first, second and third plunger positions,(a) in the first plunger position the first seal is in a firstcompensation chamber position in sealing contact with the compensationchamber, the second seal is at least partially out of sealing contactwith the reservoir chamber, and the third seal is in sealing contactwith the measurement chamber to provide fluid communication between thereservoir chamber and the measurement chamber for permitting drinkadditive in the reservoir chamber to flow into the measurement chamberbut not out the second end portion of the measurement chamber, (b) inthe second plunger position the first seal is in a second compensationchamber position, different from the first compensation chamberposition, in sealing contact with the compensation chamber, the secondseal is in sealing contact with the measurement chamber, and the thirdseal is in sealing contact with the measurement chamber for sealing afirst quantity of the drink additive between the second seal and thethird seal, as the plunger moves from the first plunger position to thesecond plunger position, the cumulative volume of the portions of thecompensation chamber, the reservoir chamber and the measurement chamberlocated between the first seal and the third seal remains constant, and(c) in the third plunger position the first seal is in a thirdcompensation chamber position, different from the first and secondcompensation chamber positions, in sealing contact with the compensationchamber, the second seal is in sealing contact with the measurementchamber, and the third seal is at least partially out of sealing contactwith the measurement chamber to provide fluid communication between themeasurement chamber and the interior cavity of the beverage containerfor permitting the first quantity of drink additive to flow into theinterior cavity of the beverage container, as the plunger moves from thesecond plunger position toward the third plunger position while thirdseal is still in sealing contact with the measurement chamber, thecumulative volume of the portions of the compensation chamber, thereservoir chamber and the measurement chamber located between the firstseal and the third seals remains constant.